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Mizbani wins fourth stage as Tour heads to Taichung

Competitors race for the finish line yesterday during the fourth stage of the Tour de Taiwan in Changhua. PHOTO: CHANG TSUNG-CHIU, TAIPEI TIMES

Changhua County hosted the fourth stage of the Tour de Taiwan yesterday, with Iranian Ghader Mizbani of the Giant Asia Racing Team taking the stage with a time of 2:41.25.

Tough uphill sections are Mizbani's specialty. After the race yesterday he said he wished the final steep 500m climb to the finish had been longer so that he could have really shown off his power.

Other competitors may not agree after being battered by winds riding through Chiayi County on Tuesday.

After starting with a pack of over 100 competitors, the field has been narrowed down somewhat as more than 10 racers were sidelined following crashes in poor weather during the first three stages.

Yesterday they were treated to more hospitable weather and a mostly flat 117.4km course. The 92 remaining racers began at Bagua Mountain in Changhua's Great Buddha Scenic Area, passing through Changhua City and out to Lukang (鹿港), Fangyuan (芳苑) and Tienwei (田尾) townships before returning back through the city to the finish.

In the combined individual results, Australian Dean Winsor slipped into second after relinquishing first place to American Frank Pipp, who now leads Windsor by 1.12 with an overall time of 10:05.8. Third place belongs to Japan's Satoshi Hirose, who was also the top Asian racer in the field yesterday. Wang Yin-chih (王胤之) from E-MA Team has the best combined time among Taiwanese competitors at 10:11.04.

In the combined team standings, Australia's Drapac Porsche leads the pack. US team Health Net Presented by Maxis claimed second place as Japan's Asian Racing Team fell to fourth and Giant Asia Racing Team moved up into third.

The tour moves to Taichung County for the fifth stage today, a 99km circuit consisting of 15 laps around a 6.6km course beginning and ending at the newly built Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.
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